May, 2016 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 31
TOURING
The ‘Nerdy’
Perspective of
Brian Posehn
TheL.A.comedianbringshis
stand-up show to Australia
By James JenningsC
alifornian comedian brian
Posehn (pronounced ‘Puh-sain’)
is your classic “seen the face, can’t
place the name” type, despite an
extensive CV amassed over a 22-year ca-
reer. He’s done stand-up and acting work
(his first TV gig wasMr.ShowWithBob
and Davidopposite Bob Odenkirk and
DavidCrossin1995;he’ssincehadroles
inFriends,SeinfeldandThe Sarah Silver-
man Program,tonameafew);voicework
(Metalocalypse,videogameHalo 2); writ-
ing(comicbookDeadpool); and music
making (his comedy song “Metal by Num-
bers” has clocked up almost 2.5 million
YouTubeviews;afullcomedymetalLP
featuring members of Testament, Death
Angel and Anthrax is due this year).
A first-time visit to
Australiathismonth
for a series of stand-up
showsisthelatestad-
dition to Posehn’s re-
sumé,althoughhe’sal-
readyquitecertainwhat
nottoexpect.“Enough
of my friends have been
there that I get what it’s really like,” says
Posehn from his backyard. “Paul Hogan’s
not going to meet me at the airport with a
knife, and I’m not expecting Yahoo Serious
to still be popular there.”
With a new Netfl ix special (Criminally
Posehn) due soon, the comic says he’s got
a raft of new material for Australian au-
diences. “If you know me, you know what
I talk about – it’s mostly nerdy things.
Not always nerdy things, but always told
from a nerdy perspective,” he explains.
“I’m turning 50 this year and I feel like pop
culture’s passing me by, and I talk about
how Weird ‘Al’ [Yankovic] doesn’t make as
much sense to me anymore because I don’t
know what he’s making fun of. I think the
sign of really getting old is not getting the
context of his songs anymore.”“I’m turning
50 and I feel
like pop
culture’s
passing
me by.”